60 of the largest corporations in the United States paid no income taxes for 2018 despite earning a composite $79 billion in net income. Worse, these companies actually received $4.3 billion in tax rebates.

Trump, guided by the extreme right-wing group “The Federalist Society” has been loading up courts with pro-corporation, anti-worker, judges. Here’s one of the latest examples of the Right-Wing Supreme Court screwing workers:

Increasingly, arbitration agreements (included by banks, utilities, and employers) are forced on consumers & workers. There’s supposed to be an element of “consent” involved–the affected parties both agree to arbitration. [In today’s world, it’s a matter of “take it or leave it”. Want electricity? Sign the binding arbitration agreement or get your electricity somewhere else. Want a job? Sign the binding arbitration agreement or turn down the job.]

The Arbitration Act’s “first principle”—that “arbitration is strictly a matter of consent, not coercion.” As a matter of fact, this employer had drafted the arbitration agreement (ambiguities and all) and had forced Varela to sign it as a condition of his employment. Some consent. (The Roberts Five have a tendency to invent facts in cases to suit their desired outcome—Citizens United and Shelby County being notable examples.)

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in dissent pointed out how “treacherously” the court has strayed from the principle that arbitration is a matter of consent: “Shut from the Court’s sight is the ‘Hobson’s choice’ employees face: ‘accept arbitration on their employer’s terms or give up their jobs.’ ” Once again, the corporate interest won, 5–4.

Even as the association has reduced spending on its avowed core mission—gun education, safety, and training—to less than ten per cent of its total budget, it has substantially increased its spending on messaging. The N.R.A. is now mainly a media company, promoting a life style built around loving guns and hating anyone who might take them away.

Republicans have long taken to complaining when their warped ideology and tribe are questioned. One of their recent complaints: “Republicans are discriminated against on social media”. That argument is, of course, bullshit.

At a Twitter all-hands meeting on March 22, an employee asked a blunt question: Twitter has largely eradicated Islamic State propaganda off its platform. Why can’t it do the same for white supremacist content?

In separate discussions verified by Motherboard, that employee said Twitter hasn’t taken the same aggressive approach to white supremacist content because the collateral accounts that are impacted can, in some instances, be Republican politicians.

It has also been observed that if Twitter banned white supremacists, many of those banned would be Trump supporters, and that would result in an uproar from the cult of the moron. Apparently, Twitter prefers to avoid an uproar from the moron’s cult.

"Local media" (is it?)
For those who aren’t quite sure why these media layoffs keep happening, or think “it’s the internet!” or “people don’t pay to subscribe,” there’s a lot more going on. Though that is part of that. Here’s a cliffs notes version - not exhaustive but it hits the highlights (Twitter thread)

Did you know?

Funding Corruption

The Lie of “Nader Cost Gore the 2000 Election”

It’s one of the oft-cited lies, regurgitated by people and by the media (they’re lazy). Gore lost by 543 votes. 200,000 Florida Democrats voted for Bush! There were 8 third parties running, and ANY ONE of them got more than Gores 543-vote loss. Most of those who voted for Nader would have never voted for Gore, anyway. This lie is promulgated by the duopoly to discourage voters from voting for a third party.Dispelling the Myth